I Recognize You
by Dramaticdragon99
Summary: What if, instead of a sudden, surprising reveal, Adrien and Marinette just kind of... Figure it out, together, little by little.
1. Chapter 1

Marinette thought of herself as at least somewhat good at figuring people out. She could always tell what Alya slept the night before by how she did her hair, she knew what days Chloe would be worse than others, and she was a pro at reading Nino's 'subtle' hints of what to get him for his birthday.

She was pretty good at reading her friends.

Adrien was the exception.

Even now, as she finally got over the whole "I can't say one word without heart palpitations" thing, he seemed to have this extra layer of un-readibility. Sure, she still had a crush one him. A big one. But she was also his friend! They hung out, helped each other with homework, and even tossed a few jokes at each other once and a while.

But she felt like there was something she was missing. She knew his home life was anything but desirable, but it wasn't that. It was something different, like a secret. Kind of like when Alya wouldn't tell her she broke Marinette's phone case for like a week, but to an even stronger extreme.

Marinette had made a mental mission to learn more about her newest friend, and figure out just what exactly she thought she was missing.

 _I can't exactly be offended by a secret,_ Marinette thought to herself with a laugh, _I know a thing or two about secrets._

But as Marinette pulled out her notebook to take notes on the latest science lecture and jot notes on Adrien on the side, the ground shook. The large, fairly modern projector started to spark, and suddenly the whiteboard didn't show a slideshow on neural pathways- it was a face.

"Hear me now, citizens of Paris!" The face shouted angrily, and it took Marinette all of half a second to figure out what was happening- Akuma.

"I, the Shocker, shall teach you a thing or two about electricity!"

While one might think it's a little sad for the teachers to be so used to this, they rounded up the kids and rushed them out. Marinette was grateful for the easy way out, and slipped off to 'go home for safety'. Thankfully, since everyone else was actually going home, she didn't bring any attention to herself.

It didn't take long for Marinette to figure out the Akuma- an angry I.T. worker who had one too many brainless clients. The akuma itself was in his Bluetooth earpiece, which was a hassle to figure how to get out, she and Cat Noir figured it out together, since they appeared on the scene around the same time.

After a relatively easy fight- I.T. workers aren't the most fit people on earth- Ladybug grabbed and purified the akuma, per usual. She grabbed the lucky charm, a simple pocket mirror used to reflect the light into the villains eyes, and threw it into the sky. As the wave of red swallowed everything around her and cleaned up their mess, she saw Cat Noir walking up to her.

"Pound it!" The both chanted, sharing their ceremonial fistbump.

"Thanks for that Cataclysm, Cat," Ladybug appreciated, patting Cat's shoulder. After all, if it weren't for that Cataclysm, she'd still be stuck in that weird electric cage that the Shocker summoned.

"No worries, my Lady," He chuckled, bowing dramatically, and brushed his hair back as he stood back up.

Ladybug laughed a little to herself as she watched him push his rustled hair back. She had gotten so used to seeing him with messy, floofy hair, that watching him actually brush it back was a little odd.

"I need a haircut," Cat laughed, reading her mind.

"I thought cats were supposed to have a mane," Ladybug shot back with a giggle, crossing her arms.

"Wild, untamed cats, yes." Cat corrected, "While _I_ am civilized and proper."

"Hah, sure thing," Ladybug laughed, shaking her head, "Well, I'll see you later, Mr. Civilized and Proper."

"Goodbye, Ladybug!"


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, how do you think you did on that test yesterday?" Alya asked Nino as he and Adrien turned their chairs around to face the girls. This was a morning ritual for them, sitting in a makeshift square, chit-chatting until class actually started.

"Oh, you mean the one I _bombed_?" Nino answered, sighing loudly.

"That's the one." Alya nodded sadly in agreement.

"Yeah, that was crazy hard!" Marinette nodded, joining in, "That last short answer question didn't even make _sense_!"

"I think I at least got a B," Adrien said, crossing his fingers, "But I won't be surprised if I don't…"

"Dude, if you get anything below an 80, I'm _screwed_." Nino grumbled, smacking his head against his arm, now resting on Alya's desk.

"Let's just hope for the best, I guess," Marinette laughed, reaching over to pat poor Nino's head.

"I didn't even have time to cram or anything," Adrien sighed, leaning back in his chair, "I had to get a haircut!"

"For real?" Alya chuckled, "What, was it a centimeter too long?"

"It's my bangs," Adrien answered with a smirk, pointing to his forehead, "They grow fast."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Alya laughed, holding her hands up in faux innocence, "My mistake."

Marinette just laughed at her friends antics. They were ridiculous. In the back of her mind, she laughed a little at how two of her favorite blondies had to get a haircut at around the same time. Maybe they even went to the same barber! Well, no, Adrien probably had some famous stylist assigned to his hair, while Cat Noir probably just grabbed some scissors and did it himself. Either way, it was a funny image.

"I haven't had a haircut in a while," Marinette thought aloud, brushing some of her pigtail.

"It looks nice long!" Alya complimented.

"Aw, you think?"

"Yeah!"

Marinette grinned, flattered at Alya's compliments. Also, she totally noticed Adrien's nods as well. Maybe she'd just start growing her hair out after all.

But before Marinette got a change to say anything else, class started. It was pretty average, the only outstanding fact was that they got their tests back! Adrien did, in fact, get a B; but it was a really high B. Alya did better than she thought, which was good. Marinette got a low B, which she was perfectly happy with. Poor Nino, on the other hand, was suffering with his low grades.

"Dude, I can help you study or something," Adrien offered, patting Nino's back.

"I need a miracle worker, not a tutor…" Nino grumbled, his head pressed against the table.

"I'll put a message for Ladybug on the Ladyblog for you, Nino," Alya joked, and the rest of the group laughed with her.

Marinette thought it was especially funny, since Ladybug herself was nowhere near a fan of studying. In fact, the only reason she _even got_ the B on it was from Adrien's help.

"What kind of grades do you think Ladybug actually gets?" Adrien asked, already turning his chair to face the girls. The school day was officially over, but they weren't in any rush to get away.

"All A's, definitely!" Alya answered, "She's definitely the smart type."

"Really?" Marinette asked with a chuckle, "How can you tell?"

"She's a natural leader! And you can tell, she's super precise and everything, she _has_ to be an all A student. Probably in some honor thing, too." Alya explained passionately. Suddenly Marinette thought she should be more concerned for her grades, the expectations were high.

"What about Cat Noir?" Nino asked, finally picking his head up, "How do you 'analyze' him, Alya?"

"Hmmm…" Alya started, tapping her chin, "He's definitely not failing anything, but he's probably not an all A like Ladybug. Maybe… Maybe a B-C average? Except in P.E., obviously."

"Do you think their superhero strength carries over to their normal lives?" Marinette asked, gathering up her books. It would be nice if her superhero coordination carried over, but alas, it doesn't.

"Probably!" Alya nodded, "Maybe not to the super extreme extent, but like, enough for them to be the top of their class, y'know? I bet he's the captain of some sport team, too."

"What sports do you think they play?" Nino asked, all of them starting to slowly get moving out to the courtyard, "Don't you think they'd be concerned over their identities? Like, won't someone notice if some random basketball player has superstrength?"

"Well, like I said, the whole _super_ strength doesn't carry over, they're just better than others, like a really athletic kid or something," Alya explained.

"Whatever you say," Nino laughed at her determination, "I gotta get going, see you guys later!"

They all waved goodbye, and Alya checked her phone.

"I should get going soon, too, I'm being summoned for babysitting duties," She laughed, shoving her phone back into her pocket.

"All right, see you Alya! Text me!" Marinette waved, checking her phone herself. No messages from her parents asking for her help, so the bakery was probably pretty regular right now.

Adrien saw his driver pull up, and waved his last goodbyes to Marinette, leaving for fencing practice.

"Have fun!" Marinette called as she started to walk away. Thankfully, her house was within viewing distance of the school, so it's not like she had to really worry about making it on time.

But for the short walk, her mind started to wander. Marinette never really thought about what kind of grades or sports Cat Noir did. She knew he _had_ a personal life, but she just never really thought about it much. Did he play a sport? What kind of grades did he get? What was his favorite class?

She reached her house, giving a slight sad chuckle. For someone she easily considered a best friend, she really didn't know much about him at all, did she…


	3. Chapter 3

"Pound it!" Ladybug and Cat Noir chanted, sharing their same fistbump as usual. This time, the akuma had been from an angry student who felt like it was the teachers fault he was getting bad grades. Marinette thought she vaguely recognized him from something, but she didn't really care- she saw a lot of people, after all. Thankfully, it wasn't the hardest akuma fight, so they still had a few minutes before they had to run away.

"That was a wonderful show, my Lady," Cat laughed, referring to when Ladybug was distracting Cat Noir so he could get a chance to properly use Cataclysm where he needed. Ladybug wasn't the best at distracting, but when she really wanted to, she could put up a good show. After all, being bright red and covered in spots was distracting in-and-of itself.

"It was _interesting_ , to say the least," Ladybug chuckled, "I just hope you aren't that childish, Cat; blaming a teacher for your own grades."

"Me, childish?" Cat smirked, "My Lady, you insult me. And for your information, I happen to be a neighborhood genius!"

"Really?" Ladybug asked suspiciously, "Are you lying to me, Cat?"

"I've never lied to you, remember?" Cat shook his head, crossing his arms, "Exaggerate, maybe. But never lie!"

Ladybug nodded with a laugh, patting his shoulder.

"You're right. Well, I'll have to look out during the next science fair for my _neighborhood genius_." Ladybug joked, poking his nose.

"I happen to be your certified Brainiac!" Cat huffed with joke-pride, tapping his head.

"What's the highest grade you've ever even gotten, kitty?" Ladybug quizzed, crossing her arms in a 'got-you-now' kind of way, but Cat retaliated quickly.

"I've had my fair share of hundreds, I'll have you know!" He shot back, "And you, Ladybug? I assume you're the highest in your class, too?"

"Ready for a surprise?" She chuckled, and continued after Cat nodded, "I'm a high B average."

"Really?" Cat asked with fake incredulous. Well, semi-fake. He actually was expecting her to be an all A student.

"Really. As shocking as it may sound, being a superhero takes out a lot of my energy away from studying," Ladybug laughed, sighing.

"Well, if my Lady ever needs a tutor…" Cat smirked, holding out his hand in a joking welcome.

"I'll figure it out on my own, but thanks," Ladybug giggled, shaking her head.

Just then, she heard the all too familiar beep from her earrings, and the duo waved their goodbyes.

Marinette laughed to herself as she slid into her room. It was funny, the very same day she talked with her friends about the superhero's grades, she actually had an akuma related to it. And as much as she'd love to prove Alya wrong, she might get a little suspicious if Marinette knew Cat Noir's grades. Plus, it was pretty ridiculous to imagine Cat crouched over a pile of books, reading glasses and all. But hey, he was full of surprises. Who knew, maybe he was a doctor, too.

"Funny _and_ smart, he's a keeper," Tikki giggled as she flew up to Marinette.

"He's something, all right," Marinette laughed, "But it is cool to know he's not failing his classes, at least. Can't be a hero when you're in detention."

"He seems pretty smart," Tikki nodded, sitting at Marinette's table as she rolled up in the computer chair. It had become a bit of a ritual to check the Ladyblog after an attack- not for her own vanity, but to make sure that Alya didn't get hurt in the crossfire. She but herself _way too close_ during those things. Thankfully, she was safe and sound, and even got a few good pictures, too.

"I wonder what school he goes to…" Marinette thought aloud, scrolling through the pictures and videos.

"Why not ask?" Tikki offered, even though she already knew the answer.

"Because I can't just ask him all about his life if I'm not going to talk about mine, too. It would be unfair!" Marinette answered with a sigh. Part of her really did want to know about Cat, and have Cat know about her, but the greater part of her resisted.

 _It's for our safety_ , she kept telling herself.

"Wouldn't it be funny if he went to your school?" Tikki laughed, dropping the personal questions.

"Yeah, that would be pretty bizarre." Marinette laughed vaguely, not putting much thought into it.

"It would make sense…" Tikki said, a little quieter, thinking.

"How so?"

"Well, remember the Horrificator?" Tikki asked, floating up a little to be closer to Marinette.

"Yeah, I do… He showed up after a few of the students disappeared," Marinette nodded. Tikki waved her hands in a 'go on' motion, and Marinette started to think.

"Let's see… If I remember right, he's the one who found out that we were trapped in the school, since he couldn't break through the gunk. And I remember him making fun of my _great_ plan," Marinette dropped her face into a pout at that last bit. So what if singing was a little lame, it worked!

"But how would he have gotten into the school if it was trapped?" Tikki asked, edging Marinette on.

"Well, I just thought he slipped in before the pink goo covered the whole thing." Marinette explained logically.

"That's possible… But it's also possible he was in the school before the goo even started!"

"Well," Marinette giggled, "Let's just agree that it's a possibility. Maybe Cat Noir _does_ go to my school. Next time we have some science fair or spelling bee, I'll look out for a 'neighborhood genius'."


	4. Chapter 4

As Marinette sat in class, she started to let her mind wander. What if Cat Noir really _was_ at her school? Did she know him? Has she even met him outside of the mask? Marinette always assumed she had met him in passing, like maybe as a customer at the bakery or walking past him in a store, but she never even thought of the possibility that she knows him. Like, knows him on a first name basis or something. She had no idea what grade he was in or anything, probably close to hers? Maybe a year or two older? He was kind of tall, but then again so was half of the male population. She vaguely remembered him mentioning Chloe forcing him to do her physics homework while he was guarding her from the Evillistrator, but she never thought much of it. Actually, she figured he would just fill in the answers with the first word he thought of. Still, any little bit of a clue was still a clue.

Part of her felt guilty for thinking about it, since she never really let Cat mention too much about their personal lives, but at the same time she never stopped him from _thinking_ about her. And if he was somehow able to actually work with the minimal amount of clues that she gave, and somehow figured out who she was? Well, then he simply _deserved_ to know, after all that detective work. She really wasn't _that_ against eventually finding out. In fact, she started to accept that they would eventually figure it out, but she just didn't think about when. Being a superhero seemed like a pretty lifetime job. They had plenty of time to learn about each other.

She started to think about the options of who he could be, if he actually went to the same school. Obviously not Nino, Max, Nathaniel, or Kim, since they had all been akumatized. In fact, she could eliminate almost all of the class, since she had seen Cat Noir with them. Unless he has a secret ability to multiply and be two places at once, that is an elimination factor. So that means he can't be Ivan, either. That basically eliminates her entire class, aside from Adrien. Well, not quite.

Marinette thought back to when the Horrificator had a bunch of people in those 'goo balls'. She remembered seeing Adrien's shoes with the goo, and hearing him call out when she was in the room with all the goo balls. But Marinette had made a little promise in herself to not eliminate any options unless she directly saw them together, because that was only fair. After all, _Ladybug_ answered for _Marinette_ , so voices and actual people were two different things. So she only counted seeing them together as elimination, so Adrien is like… half-eliminated? Whatever.

Marinette had already given her 'why Adrien can't be Cat Noir' rant before to Alya, and laughed inside at herself for considering repeating the rant for a moment. But as time went on- even though that was only a few months ago- she thought she at least matured a _little_ , and was treating everyone as a culprit.

Innocent until proven Cat.

But still, Marinette didn't think Adrien would make a very believable Cat Noir. She _did_ think they would be good friends, though, since they kind of balanced each other out. Adrien was the responsible one, and Cat was the wild fun one. They'd be like an old married couple.

Marinette couldn't help herself but to giggle a little outloud at the mental picture of Adrien and Cat Noir as an old married couple, but caught herself before making a scene.

After calming herself for a moment, she went through the rest of the kids she knew from her school. She mostly hung out with people from her grade, so she didn't have a very detailed list of her other schoolmates, but she still ran through them anyway.

None of them seemed to really fit the bill, for either personality, physical, or just plain common sense reasons.

She shrugged to herself, focusing back to the schoolwork. Being your own personal detective was getting boring, and she'll just have to wait until the next akuma fight to maybe find something new about him.


	5. Chapter 5

"Do you have any kings?" Adrien asked, looking up to Marinette.

"Go fish."

Adrien sighed, grabbing another card from the pile. He was losing by a mile, Marinette had nearly matched up half the deck already.

The two were sharing their lunch together, even though Alya and Nino had already left. They still had a while before school started back up, but Alya and Nino both forgot to do their homework, and they knew they couldn't hang out with their friends without getting distracted, so they left to finish their work. This left Adrien and Marinette at the table, playing another game of Go Fish.

So far, the score has been: Marinette 3, Adrien 1. And it was about to be another win for Marinette if Adrien didn't get it together.

"Any two's?" Marinette asked, checking through her hand.

"Nope! Go fish!" Adrien grinned.

They went on like this for a while, and eventually Marinette did in fact win.

"I don't get it, you're like the _card_ _master_!" Adrien whined, gathering up his losing matches to put them back into the deck.

"It's Madam Card Master, to you," Marinette corrected with a giggle.

"Is there like, a cheat or something? How did you get so good at a kid's game?" Adrien asked, leaning back in his chair suspiciously.

"It's not cheating, it's skill." Marinette answered proudly.

"But it's _Go Fish_. There's like no skill involved!" Adrien laughed, pointing to the deck.

"There's enough skill involved for me to be better." Marinette smirked, holding the deck up, "Wanna go again?"

"No," Adrien shook his head, "Let's try a different game. Rummy?"

Marinette nodded, and the two played a round of Rummy.

Marinette won.

"I'm never playing anything with cards with you again," Adrien swore under his breath, giving Marinette a joke glare.

"There's plenty of games I'm not good at," Marinette laughed, "Like dominoes and poker."

"But I don't think we'll play much poker at lunch," Adrien reminded her, "But I bet I can make better card houses!"

"Let's see!" Marinette challenged, handing half the deck to Adrien, and the two got to work on their houses.

Finally, Adrien had something card-related that he was better at, making a monstrous card mansion, while Marinette could hardly hold up her tiny house.

"Adrien, that's amazing," Marinette breathed, staring at the giant house, before it eventually all tumbled down.

"They don't stay up long," Adrien laughed, "But being homeschooled with no friends really teaches you how to make a good card house."

Marinette gathered up the cards again, and checked her watch.

"Do you want to head back to school?" Marinette offered.

Adrien checked his watch as well, and nodded and slowly got up from his chair.

But right as he reached for his bag, they heard a loud crash from outside the mini-restaurant.

Everyone in the building rushed to the windows, and saw a girl no older than 20, clearly akumatized.

"I'm _tired_ of being disrespected by little children!" She shouted, throwing magic balls at the children around her, which formed into handcuffs around all the kid's wrists.

"You will listen to me, The Sitter, and you will do exactly as I say!"

Marinette gulped, glancing around the building. There was a back exit, and see noticed a few people rush out to escape.

"Adrien!" She called out, "We need to get out!"

He nodded, and they rushed out of the building together.

"Follow the crowd," Adrien instructed Marinette, pointing to the large crown of people running away, "I'm going to stay and, um, c-call the police!"

"No, Adrien, you need to leave!" Marinette shook her head quickly.

"Just go!" He yelled, pushing her into the crowd for safety.

Marinette felt herself almost growl in frustration, and bolted into the nearest empty alley, and hid behind a dumpster can to transform. Immediately afterwards, she rushed back as Ladybug. She saw Adrien glancing around nervously behind the building, trying to shoo away the people who were still there, clearly he was trying to get them to safety first.

 _Selfless,_ Marinette thought, _but stupid_.

She laughed as she remembered thinking the same thing about her partner as she jumped down in front of him. The thought left as soon as it came, however, and she focused again.

Quickly, she grabbed Adrien's arms and lifted him back up, carrying him away from the scene and towards the crowds of people who were rushing away. She thanked everything that was holy that she finally had some more confidence around Adrien and could actually make physical contact without freaking out. But then again, this isn't exactly a romantic situation, this is for his safety.

"Get to safety!" She ordered, pointing to the crowd, "Leave helping the people to the superheros!"

And with that and a pat on the back, she zoomed back away, hearing the faint call of the people as they saw her fly by.

Thankfully, after she returned to the scene of the akuma, Cat Noir wasn't far behind, and the duo fought the akuma together.


	6. Chapter 6

"I gotta say," Cat Noir laughed as the waves of red cleaned the fight scene, "These akumas are getting ridiculous."

Ladybug nodded with a chuckle, pulling her yoyo back in and attaching it to her waist.

"You okay, though?" She asked, checking his face. The red waves seemed to clean it, but it never hurt to check, "You took a pretty hard hit back there."

It was true, he took a brutal hit to the face to protect Ladybug. She was torn- part of her was thankful for his shield, the other half was furious for letting himself get hurt.

"As long as you're safe, Ladybug, I'm fine," He grinned, and Marinette saw the genuineness in that smirk.

"I'm serious," She sighed, patting his shoulder gently, "You need to be careful, alright?"

"I am," Cat nodded, removing her hand and giving it a kiss.

"If you say so," Ladybug rolled her eyes, taking her hand back, "But I don't see how you can be reckless and careful at the same time."

"I'm special," Cat smirked, waving at himself dramatically to frame his words. His glorious effect was dulled as his ring beeped.

"I'll see you later, then" Ladybug laughed, but before she turned away she put her hand on Cat's arm.

"But seriously," She started, "Thank you."

Cat's typical snarky grin faded into an honest smile, and he nodded quickly.

"Always happy to be of service!" And with that, his snarky grin returned, and he rushed away.

The next day, Marinette sat at her desk, sighing loudly.

"What's wrong?" Alya asked, walking up and sitting next to her.

As an answer, Marinette held up the quiz she just received.

"Ouch…" Alya whispered, seeing Marinette's grade. Marinette was usually a pretty high B student.

Usually.

"What'd you get?" Nino asked, as he and Adrien turned out.

Alya checked the paper that was upside down on her desk, and shrugged.

"82," She answered, "And you guys?"

"75," Nino shrugged, "Meh."

"I got a 96." Adrien answered, in a quiet voice so he didn't sound like he was bragging.

"Man, that is so unfair. I studied and everything!" Marinette whined, resting her head on the desk.

"Sounds like you need a tutor. This is the second bad grade you've gotten recently in this class," Alya reminded.

"I am _not_ paying for a tutor," Marinette shot back quickly, crossing her arms.

"I'll help you for free, if you want," Adrien offered quickly, slightly raising his hand.

"I don't want to be a bother…" Marinette waved her hand dismissively.

"No, it's fine!" Adrien shook his head, "It'll help me study, too."

"Are you sure?" Marinette double checked, and smiled at Adrien's nod.

Later, after school, the four of them stood outside together.

"Thank you again, Adrien, you're a huge help!" Marinette thanked happily.

"Don't worry about it, you're my friend!" He replied with a grin, "Besides, I'm always happy to be of service."

He and Nino laughed together, and Marinette blinked for a moment.

 _Hmm… I recognize that_.


	7. Chapter 7

Marinette sat in her bed, thinking. She had a small notebook in her hand, but the page was blank. She was too deep in thought to actually write anything.

She had planned on making a list of "Cat Noir similarities to Adrien", but as soon as she thought of it, she feel into nearly a trance of thought.

Why even make the list, when she already knew the similarities. She already mentally went through them several times on the way home. And there were far too many to say it was a coincidence.

Maybe it _was_ coincidence that he always seemed to disappear when Cat Noir appeared, maybe it _was_ coincidence that they had the same hair, and same shade of green in their eyes. Maybe it _was_ a coincidence that they had a similar sense of humor, and happened to say the same phrase.

But maybe it wasn't.

She considered what it would be like if Adrien was Cat Noir. Would that be a bad thing? Having your close, crime-fighting friend also be your close, friend-slash-crush.

It would be pretty cool, having someone to bail you out when the two of you need an excuse to save the city. It would be nice to have someone to confide with after a hard akuma fight, to help you relax. And her main worry about Cat being "disappointed" in who she was outside of the mask was eliminated, since they were already friends. If anything, they'd become even closer friends!

But still, there was the possibility that it _was_ , in fact, a huge coincidence. So Marinette didn't want to act on anything in case she was wrong, and make a complete fool out of herself.

So she'd wait it out, maybe drop a few hints of her own that she was who she was.

As much as she'd like to say she was surprised at the whole "Adrien could be Cat Noir", but to be honest… It made sense…

And it felt _right_.


	8. Chapter 8

At school the next day, Marinette actually tried to focus on her notes- shocker, right? And she was relatively successful, too. It seems that accepting the whole "my crush might be by masked best friend" thing actually took a huge weight off your shoulders. She noticed Alya and Nino passing a note back and forth, but that really didn't distract her since she was used to it. A little while later, however, she felt the note hit her arm.

She glanced up, and saw Alya nudging it toward her with a smirk. Marinette was suspicious, to say the least. What were Alya and Nino up to this time… She could easily recognize their handwritings, especially since Alya wrote in a red pen and Nino wrote in black.

 _Hey, Alya! We should get Adrien a present or something because he's been mad tired lately! –N_

 _Yeah, that sounds like a great idea! :) What do you think we should get him? –A_

 _Food. He complains all the time about his strict 'model boy diet'. Got any candy on you? –N_

 _Not candy, but I DO have a bakery-owning best friend : ) –A_

 _YES! We should totally go get some snacks from there for lunch. Can you show her this note to see if she can get us the 'friend discount' lol –N_

Marinette had to hold back a chuckle, since she was in class, but she still found it hilarious. Even in their moments of kindness, they were still little buttfaces. But of course Marinette would give them the friend discount, anyway. She wrote quickly on the note and passed it to Alya.

 _We have some pretty good croissants today, those sound good? –M_

Alya nodded and gave her a thumbs up, passing it to Nino, who did the same. Adrien noticed Nino's thumbs up and glanced back at Marinette with a confused face.

Marinette immediately shot her eyes back to her notes, trying not to make herself any more suspicious than she already was. It was a surprise, after all!

They passed the note a little more, and they devised their plan. Alya and Nino would keep Adrien at school long enough during their lunch period to allow Marinette to run next-door to her bakery and snatch up some croissants, fresh from the oven, and she'd bring them back. They'd all eat together in a little happy bundle of friendship and carbs.

And they did just that. Marinette laughed as she ran out of the school when she heard Alya's excuse to keep Adrien- 'We have to show you these pictures from the class trip! Yes, I know you went too, but you didn't see the pictures I took!'- and grabbed her croissants. By the time she got back, all three were sitting at the steps at the entrance of the school.

"There she is!" Nino grinned, and all three looked up to see her. Adrien looked a little confused for a moment, then smiled as he saw the large tray that Marinette held.

"Let's eat!" Alya ordered, grabbing a croissant quickly, and then grabbed another and handed it to Adrien.

"Aw, thanks!" He smiled, and it was obvious he was trying to keep his manners up even though he was elated to eat some croissants.

"They're fresh, too!" Marinette smiled, sitting with them, "I hope you like them, Adrien."

"Is this what you guys were planning in class, with the thumbs up?" Adrien asked accusingly to Nino.

Nino laughed and nodded, shoving his croissant in his mouth.

"That's really nice of you guys," Adrien chuckled quietly, taking a bite out of his. Clearly, by his face, he loved it.

"Oh, Marinette, these are great!" He grinned, covering his mouth with his hand so he didn't spit food all over her.

"Thanks, but I didn't make these, it was my parents. I'll tell them you said that, though!" She grinned proudly, still appreciating the praise even though it wasn't for her.

They ate in peace after that, not talking much because their mouths were all full. After they finished their croissants, they split off to enjoy the rest of their lunch however they wished. Marinette went back to her house to draw some more designs and eat some more adequate lunch as well. She turned on the news on her laptop, checking to make sure Paris was safe while she was at school.

It was, but that safety didn't last long. She hardly took a bite out of her sandwich before the news switched to a scene at a park, with an angry, akumatized person tearing it up.

Marinette sighed loudly, then shut her laptop.

"I'm still hungry…" She whined as she flung herself across the rooftops to the park.

"Pound it!"

Marinette grinned through her mask as she and Cat Noir shared their ever-familiar fistbump. The Akuma had taken up some time, and if she guessed right, lunch had ended a few minutes ago.

Like clockwork, she heard a loud _groooowl_ come from her stomach.

She laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of her neck.

"I didn't get to finish my lunch," She explained to Cat, who was busy laughing to hear her excuse.

"Should I treat you, my Lady?" He offered with a smirk, even though they both knew their miraculous were about to run out.

"Not today, kitty," She laughed, "Maybe some other time, though."

"And what should I prepare for? I hope you aren't a big fan of spicy foods." Cat laughed, crossing his arms.

"No, just some croissants will do for me. I happen to love croissants." Ladybug answered with a smile. She watched Cat carefully, and noticed a tiny flash of familiarity across his green eyes when she said that. She smiled to herself, proud of her little hint.

"I love them too," He grinned, back to normal, "We really are made for each other!"

She laughed and shook her head at his ridiculous antics, waving a 'goodbye' as she ziplined her way out of the park. She made it home just in time, before her miraculous ran out. She smirked as she gathered her books back together.

"I made a pretty good detective," She grinned to herself as Tikki flew up to her.

"Let's hope he is, too."


	9. Chapter 9

Over the course of the next few days, Adrien and Marinette talked some more than usual. She was progressively more confident, which was really good since Adrien seemed to be getting "attached at the hip to Marinette" as Nino explained it. Her stutter was almost completely gone around him, and she didn't backtrack on her words constantly either. In fact, she even interrupted him once to correct him on his facts! How cool is that! Of course she apologized profusely afterwards, but still, the point of the matter was that she was growing more confident.

And, if it made sense, Adrien was growing more confident around her, too. Not in the same way, of course, since he was never a fumbling-bumbling mess to begin with, but confident in the way that he could confide more in her, and trust her to be there for him. Confident in the way that he was getting more comfortable with her, and more at ease.

All in all, they were getting along even better lately. According to Alya and Nino, the stars finally aligned and they stopped worrying about everything. But Marinette felt a little differently. Sure, the stars very well could be aligned or whatever, but there was something in his eyes lately that she couldn't just ignore. It was something she'd lie and say she couldn't figure out, or something that was too fleeting that she couldn't tell what it was. But she knew exactly what it was, because she knew she was looking like it, too.

It was familiarity.

Neither of them said anything even remotely along the lines of the Parisian Superheros during when they hung out. Even when it was just them, they never brought it up.

Until today.

Adrien was studying with Marinette at her house- at her house! And she was totally okay and speaking and breathing!- and he sat across from her at the table in her room. They were taking a break, since science was hard, and nibbling on some chocolate cookies, when Adrien started speaking.

"Cat Noir is pretty cool, huh?" He mumbled, taking a bite of his cookie and glancing to Marinette.

She froze for a moment, as was her normal reaction when anyone mentioned Ladybug or Cat Noir around her, but she 'relaxed' after a moment.

"Um… Yeah…" She nodded. She still had to tread carefully, in case she was wrong about her hunch.

"W-Well," Adrien started, realizing his question was totally out of nowhere, "You met him that one time, right? With Nathanael and all?"

"Oh!" Marinette nodded again, this time actually relaxing, "Yes, I did. And yes, he is cool."

She was proud of herself for actually saying Cat Noir was cool instead of spitting all over Adrien like she did the first time he asked her.

"Yeah…" He nodded, his smile showing he was trying to hide some pride. Marinette knew he would have actually hid that if he were the others, but he seemed to be catching up to her as well.

"Ladybug is cool, too…" She added, staring out the window, all nonchalantly.

"She sure is," Adrien agreed, staring out as well, with a small smile.

"I wonder what they're like in their normal lives. Alya already determined their grades, after all," Marinette laughed, remembering how Alya even made a post on her blog about the theories on their grades.

Adrien laughed with her, nodding.

"Well, I'm sure they're nice," He answered, after a moment, "and very, very cool."

"You don't think he's only cool as Cat Noir?" Marinette asked, grinning inside at her sneaky questions. If nothing else proved he could be Cat Noir, then this question sure would.

"I'm sure he's super cool!" He answered _far too quickly_ , then leaned back and corrected himself, "He strikes me as a very cool person."

Marinette couldn't help but giggle loudly at his flump.

Yeah. She was like 90% sure it was him. Either that, or Adrien was one hell of a fan.

"I agree." She said, taking the last cookie, "I think he would be very cool in his normal life as well."

Adrien smiled and nodded, taking the last bite of his cookie.

As they slowly got back into the swing of their schoolwork and studies, Marinette couldn't help but smile. She knew he had to be figuring it out as well, after all the hints she's dropped over the week. And clearly he was dropping some as well- intentionally or not. And from how he acted, she was pretty sure he was more than an avid fan.

And it was pretty nice, figuring it out.

As Marinette worked on her schoolwork, she realized something that almost made her freeze on the spot.

This is nothing like she imagined.

She imagined their reveal being dramatic, with gasps or at least some shock. If they didn't know each other, like she first thought, it would still be some dramatic event where they would close their eyes and undo their transformation together and have some over-the-top meeting.

But here they were, putting the pieces of the puzzle together slowly, over croissants and cookies and science.

And Marinette liked this way much, much better.

 **first AN of this fic! to address what some of you have been asking: yes! I will in fact be writing a partner fic from Adrien's POV! Don't worry, it'll happen!**

 **Also, thank you for all your support!**


	10. Chapter 10

"Yeah, no, I really think that the double combo is super overrated!" Marinette ranted, shoving her hands into the air for emphasize. She and Adrien had long since finished studying at her house, and she was busy ranting about how frustrating some video games could be.

"Like, some people are so focused on trying to get their combos that they don't enjoy the game, y'know!" She shouted, looking to Adrien for reinforcement.

"Yeah, totally," He laughed and nodded, his face obviously showing he had no idea what she was talking about.

She laughed with him, finally lowering her hands and calming down.

"Whatever, it's frustrating." She chuckled, crossing her arms.

"It sure sounds like it."

Suddenly, Adrien's phone beeped, and his face dropped.

"Hey, I got to go, sorry," He explained, getting up, "I had a lot of fun studying with you today, though. Thank you so much for having me over!"

"Of course!" Marinette grinned, helping him gather his books, "You can come over whenever!"

He grinned- with pinkish cheeks that Marinette _definitely_ noticed- and left, after giving his thanks to her parents as well.

Marinette smiled in her room, staring out into the peaceful scene of Paris in the afternoon. The sun was setting, and the sky was a light pink-orange, with fluffy clouds dotting it. The buildings seemed to be glowing, the birds were flying home to their nests, and the giant pillar of smoke was rising over by the library.

Wait.

Marinette groaned loudly, rolling her eyes.

"It's too late for this nonsense," She grumbled, slowly standing up to transform. Can't a girl have a break?

An hour or two later, she sat huffing and puffing with an equally exhausted Cat Noir. This akuma wasn't exactly _difficult_ , per say, but boy was he exhausting. Marinette swore, if another little boy with endless energy got turned into an akuma, she was leaving the fight to Cat.

"You alright, Ladybug?" Cat Noir asked, waking her up from her frustration.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," She laughed, "You?"

"I'm good," He answered with a nod, "Although a little tired."

"Me too," Ladybug agreed, "That was ridiculous. We need to have some kind of battle plan for the next time someone with that much energy gets turned into an akuma."

"We should make up some kind of fight-combo," He laughed, punching the air as his point.

Ladybug looked up to him with a blink. Now just what was he thinking…?

"I don't know, battle combos seem like a bad idea," She shook her head, still smiling though.

"I think they're a great idea. After all," He added with a smirk, leaning in, "They work so well in video games."

To anyone else, that was an innocent point. Anyone could have said that to anyone. It was true, and video games _were_ the things most known with combos, after all. So nothing stood out to anyone else in the world when he said that.

But to Ladybug, that was an answer.

She just looked at him, her joking glare slowly fading off into a smile, as they looked into each other's eyes.

Yeah, that was familiarity in his eyes, all right.


	11. Chapter 11

**[[Final Chapter! Time to start on Adrien's POV, then maybe a sequel? Depends on if you guys want more]]**

Marinette was going to punch Adrien in the face if he turned around again in class. Every single time the teacher had her back to the class as she wrote on the board, Adrien would turn around and look at Marinette, with some grin-smirk plastered on his annoying face.

Yes, that's right. Annoying. Marinette just mentally called her crush's face _annoying_. Alya would be so proud. As much as she did love him turning around to look at her, of course, it would cause a bit of a problem if he kept doing it and people actually noticed. Thankfully, Chloe hadn't noticed because she had been fiddling with her hair and a mirror all class, so she wasn't causing anything. But Nino and Alya? They noticed, all right. And Marinette hoped it was only them, and no one else. She had enough on her plate with her almost-absolutely-officially-confirmed suspicion about Adrien. The only reason she didn't call it officially confirmed was they had not said the words "I am a superhero" out loud, in person. But still, it was _basically_ official. And Marinette knew that Adrien had also figured it out, especially by how he was acting lately. It was like a little kid who found out their friend had a present for them, always clinging and grinning excitedly, like Marinette would just stop time and say she was Ladybug.

She might be a pretty strong superhero, but she wasn't a time-wizard.

After class- and more Annoying Adrien- Marinette gathered her belongings at her locker, ready for the end of the school week. Friday was so wonderful, after all. Alya was in the bathroom, so Marinette was by her quiet little self, listening to the world around her. According to Kim, there was a good soccer game coming up, according to Max, they had four-hundred something-or-other hours until the next test, and according to Nino, he should just ask her out already, and according to-

Wait, hold up.

Marinette blinked and focused her ears to where Nino and Adrien were, listening as closely as she could. Clearly, they didn't realize she was at the other side of the lockers.

"Dude, it's not that simple!" Adrien hissed back, and by the sound of Nino laughter he had tried to punch his arm.

"Yes, it is!" Nino argued, "Dude, ask her!"

"I can't just ask Marinette-"

"Ask me what?" Marinette interrupted, walking around the corner of the lockers to where Adrien and Nino were. She couldn't help herself, she was so sneaky!

Nino covered his laugh with his hand, and Adrien froze in his spot.

"No-Nothing!" Adrien shouted, smacking Nino's arm.

"Dude, now!" Nino nudged Adrien's shoulder, nodding quickly in encouragement.

Marinette tilted her head, as if she had no idea what they were talking about. Alya had been helping her with her improv skills, obviously.

"Um, Marinette…" Adrien sighed, pushing Nino a little farther away for 'privacy', "This weekend, if you're free, would you, y'know… Want to go out with me?"

Now, keep in mind, this boy had been Marinette's crush for how long? So of course, even though she knew what was coming, she was at a loss for words for a split second, grinning far too wide to be normal. But she eventually calmed herself down to where she could nod as her answer. It's not words yet, but nodding is still an answer.

As she watched Adrien copy her giant grin, she felt the same rush again, and she knew she wouldn't be able to explain this to Alya without screaming. Thankfully, Marinette later found out, Nino filmed it as soon as Adrien pushed him away so she didn't have to explain anything to Alya, just show the video. Isn't Nino such a good friend.

Eventually, through some miracle, they were actually able to set up a time and place with coherent words, and left happily.

They had agreed to go to the movies and then lunch at the first place they saw.

Marinette wore an adorable pink spring dress she had just finished, with plain white sandals. She noticed something was off, however, when she looked at the mirror. She realized what it was, and grabbed a bracelet she made herself- with red thread and black buttons. It was the perfect little Ladybug bonus.

Adrien had an equal plan, wearing a black hat with a green paw-print.

Both looked like just fan-items to anyone else, so it was great! They were both so excited for their date that they were giddy from just walking into the movie theater together.

Unfortunately, the giddiness didn't last long. One of the underappreciated concession stand workers seemed to have been pushed five steps too far, and Marinette and Adrien got there just as they saw the familiar purple line stretch across his face.

Panicked for a moment, Marinette glanced up at Adrien, who seemed equally concerned.

"U-Uh, we should leave so we don't get hurt!" Marinette said, grabbing Adrien's wrist and leading him out of the theater quickly.

In her rush to transform, Marinette didn't care about the date.

She knew that the theater had a huge dumpster at the back of the building, so she rushed around the building and slammed her back against the wall to be hidden.

At the exact same time as Adrien did.

"Adrien!" Marinette squeaked.

"Marinette!" Adrien followed, staring at her in shock.

Both surprised for a moment. But then they remembered their recent discoveries, and calmed down. But still, this wasn't exactly the best way in the world for everything to happen…

They both started talking at the exact same time.

"Marinette, there's something you should know-"

"Adrien, I need to tell you something-"

They blinked, then couldn't help but grin. They stared at each other's eyes for a moment, comfortable with the familiarity they shared, then spoke again, this time _together_.

" _I know_."


End file.
